Days Without You
by Samayo Kaze
Summary: Takes place during the time when Zeno was alone before the show begins. Yuki is running out of time and she knows it. There is nothing she can do but leave. They may not be able to be together but she can still tell him everything that happens. After all, who doesn't enjoy getting letters? So begins the travels a young girl told only through the letters she leaves behind.
1. How it Began

The young woman—traveling alone as far as anyone had ever been able to determine—entered the village on a rather unimportant day. Nothing really stood out in particular to the members of the village, but the traveler seemed in ordinarily pleased as she swept some of her long silvery white hair out of her eyes. Looking about the small community, a soft reminiscing smile worked its way onto her face as the woman approached a young child playing by himself just out of the way of any potential traffic.

"Hello there," the woman spoke softly as she crouched down to be at eye level with the small child and smiled at him, "My name is Yuki, what might your name be, little one?" The child hesitated shyly, but after a few moments he smiled back,

"My name is Hane, Yuki-san," he murmured softly. Yuki's smile grew as she reached around to dig through the small bag she carried. Shuffling through its contents, Yuki pulled out a small package that had been carefully wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. Yuki then turned back to Hane,

"Hane," she began, "I would like you to deliver this package for me." The child frowned, not understanding why a healthy adult needed a child to deliver something. Noticing his confusion, Yuki clarified, "The package is for a very close friend of mine. I had hoped to be able to deliver it in person, but I have to leave very soon and I am afraid I cannot find my friend in such a short time. He should be coming through here though." She seemed incredibly sad at the thought of not seeing her friend again. "If you agree to take it, you must promise e that you will not open the package, no matter how long it is in your possession, okay," she questioned kindly. Hane nodded resolutely, a very determined look on his face.

"I will take it," he told the older teen seriously, "and I will not open it, I promise." She smiled again, a soft look in her eyes.

"Are you sure," Yuki asked him, "do not know when he will get here. It could be in a few weeks, it could be a few years, or it could even take him several lifetimes. I have no way of telling. Are you certain that you want to do this for me?" " _How could it take one person several life times to get somewhere,"_ Hane thought confused. Regardless, the boy was undeterred and held his hands out so Yuki could place the package in them. She did so, and laughed at his face when the package was much lighter than he was expecting. Her job finished, Yuki stood to leave before Hane asked a very important question previously forgotten,

"Wait! Who do I give this too?" Yuki turned back and gave an incredibly odd answer,

"My friend has hair colored like the sun and eyes that match the sky. His name is Zeno." And with that, Yuki left the village, never looking back. Hane held the package to his chest as he picked up the top he had been playing with and headed home to hide the package somewhere safe until I could be giving to its new owner. He got the feeling that it was going to be a very long wait.


	2. A Job accomplished

It was mid spring when the Happy Hungry Bunch accidentally stumbled across the small and incredibly isolated village. Here, there were no signs of the advancements they had seen in Water country. Even so, everything was well maintained and the people were pleasant. The children in particular seemed glad to have new playmates, a role that Zeno and Yona happily undertook. The village was not nearly large enough to house an inn, but after much begging and complaining Yun agreed to camp just outside of the village for a few days. The commotion the children stirred up caused some of the older members of the village to exit their houses in order to investigate the fair sized group of very strange, armed, visitors. One, an elder for the village, approached the group without fear.

"What are you youngsters doing here," the man questioned, sounding every bit of the grumpy grandfather he looked. The three youngest dragons exchanged confused looks, Zeno and Yona were still off somewhere playing with some of the children, while Hak stood guard over the camp and Yun was trying to negotiate for supplies from one of the other villagers. At the gruff question, however, Yun quickly pulled away from his bartering to prevent the dragons from saying something stupid.

"Just traveling sir, we mean your village no trouble," Yun cut in as he saw Jae ha open his mouth. The elder seemed unconvinced but just then Zeno and Yona rounded the corner and came into sight; Yona walking with several small children around her and Zen with two or three of the older boys climbing all over him, both were laughing. Seeing their parents, the children bid goodbye to their new friends before racing over and excitedly exclaiming how fun their day had been—the entire group being oblivious to the tense atmosphere of the adults in the way that only children could be. The two missing members joined the rest of the group, Zeno being just as loud as the children and acting just as oblivious as he chatted happily at the younger dragons. Their appearance acted as a great diversion of attention, the tense atmosphere evaporating under the lightheartedness of the innocent. As the parents (and Yun) tried to calm down their excited children, Hak was the only person still watching the elder that had caused the problem—so he was also the only one who noticed how the elder zeroed in on Zeno. This was not the first time special attention had been paid to the smallest of the dragons, he was loud and very hard to miss unless he wanted to be, but for some reason the elder's appraising look caused the hair on the back of Hak's neck to stand up. The black haired warrior edged closer to the unsuspecting blonde, standing protectively to the side of where he and Yona were being berated by Yun for being out so long. There was a lull in sound as both the children and their parents quieted. Then unexpectedly for everyone except Hak, who had still not dropped his guard, the elder spoke up again,

"You, boy, what is your name?" The question was clearly pointed at the strange group, and all the dragons plus Yun looked at each other, worriedly. Out of all of them, Zeno and Yun were the only ones who looked like boys and Yun had already been there. There was a moment of realization when the Happy Hungry Bunch understood that the man was talking about Zeno before they closed ranks about him, hovering protectively. Said dragon blinked confusedly at suddenly being boxed in before pointing at himself and asking,

"Me?" At the elder's nod, Zeno smiled at him a replied, "Zeno's name is Zeno!" The small dragon's answer caused a slight change in the old man's eyes as he turned back to the house he had first come out of,

"Wait there," he instructed as he entered the home. No one moved as a minute massed before the man reappeared, now caring a small box. "You certainly kept her waiting for a long time," he commented as he approached the protective cluster around Zeno. Seeing the box, Zeno pushed his way past Hak and Kija to stand in front of the group—sending a calming smile to the tense warriors behind him. The elder held the package out in front of him, and after studying the man's face for a moment Zeno reached out and took the surprising light box. The box was small and light, covered in a nondescript brown colored paper that was tied on with strands of twine. As he was investigating the box, the old man spoke very softly, "I have kept that package for a long time, almost 70 years now," he paused, and Zeno looked up from the small box to see a fond look in the other's eyes, "She was quiet distressed that she could not give you that in person." Zeno frowned, his eyes betraying his true age to those few who could see them,

"70 years, huh," he questioned sadly, "Guess that means that I must be late again." The elder snorted, surprising everyone,

"Not quiet, you still made it in only one lifetime. She seemed fairly convinced it would take you several to get out here." Zeno smiled sadly, shrugging his shoulders slightly,

"She was pretty close though, 70 years is a long time. Did you, do you know what she left," Zeno asked hesitantly. The man gave him an odd look as he shook his head,

"Only she knows, I promised her that I would never open it." Looking from the box to the man in front of him, Zeno nodded to himself as he plopped himself down on the ground and carefully pulling loose the twine binding on the package. As it turned out, it was not a box at all but a stack of papers. Zeno started trembling, causing massive inner panic from his fellow dragons. Jae ha dropped down to be at eye level with the blonde,

". . . Zeno. . .," he asked softly, seeing the tears forming in the older dragon's eyes. One of Zeno's hands came up to mouth to prevent any sobs from escaping out as he shook his head slightly. Rubbing his sleeve against his cheeks to wipe away his tears, Zeno spoke in between hitching breaths,

"s-she promised . . . but I . . . she really . . . and I never. . . why did she not . . . oh Hime." Seeing that Zeno was about to start crying again, Jae ha looked to the others for help in pulling their usually happy dragon from his thoughts. Surprisingly enough, it was Shin ah who made the next move. Crouching down, Shin ah frowned at the papers that had caused his friend such sadness,

"what are they," he questioned calmly. Zeno blinked several times, pulling himself out of his mind and back into reality. Gently rubbing his thumb against the top-most paper, Zeno breathed deeply a few times before answering Shin ah's question,

"they are letters," he explained quietly, "I used to travel with someone. The two of us traveled together for a long time before she suddenly told me one day that she was leaving. She. . .," he paused—his grip tightening on the letters in his hands, "she promised me before she left that she would write to me everyday. I never got any letters, so I had assumed that something had happened. There was some pretty bad weather right after she left, and then I had thought that she just forgot."

"Apparently not," Hak drawled as he looked at the small, but plentiful stack of papers on Zeno's hands, "Are you going to open them, or just sit there and stare at them?" Poor Zeno looked shell shocked at the process of actually reading the letters.

"B-but . . . wha. . . where would I even start," he asked helplessly, spreading the letters out a bit on his lap.

"How about at the beginning," Yun commented as he began ushering the group back to their own camp, "the letters are numbered, are they not?" Zeno looked back at the letters, and sure enough there were numbers along the top of the male shift envelopes. The small blonde then allowed Yun to push him out of the village center and back into their camp. A hand on his shoulder brought Zeno back out of his blank examinations of the neatly folded papers. He looked up to see Jae ha looking at him worriedly. Reaching up, Zeno took the green dragon's hand in his own and squeezed it comfortingly, even managing to offer the other a small—heartfelt—smile. Satisfied that Zeno was fine, Jae ha turned to give him some privacy but was stopped. Turning back, he saw Zeno shake his head,

"No, please stay? Hime was. . . I do not want to do this alone." Jae ha nodded and instead settled on an empty log to his left. Zeno was now faced with the reality of what was happening, and one hand reached up to rub the golden medallion he had carried for so long in search of some comfort. After a while, a quiet shuffling sound drew his attention. While Zeno had been occupied, the others had gathered around him and now were watching him with concerned and at the same time expectant eyes. Turning his smile at the others as well, Zeno slowly shifted through the letters until he found the letter with the number one on it. He hesitated unfolded the paper and began the narrative of the lonely traveler that had such a huge impact on the world that had forgotten her.


	3. Day 1

Day 1

Dear Zeno,

Today is the day. I will be leaving in a few hours, but I just want to put down some words before hand to get me started. It is going to be quite a while before you get this after all. You know, I thought about just going and leaving behind a note to explain everything. I thought that maybe that would hurt less, but I know that I could never do that to you. As I will hopefully work up the courage to tell you soon, I plan on writing you a letter every day after we separate. I will be writing down everything that happens so that when you get these letters you will know all about my adventures. Maybe we can even read them together. I think that I would really enjoy that. Oh, here I go getting all teary. I am such a crybaby, huh? As I write this, I can look over and see you sleeping still. You look so peaceful; I feel very glad to get to see you like that one last time before I go. Whatever happens when it comes time for me to leave, please do not feel bad about it. It is not your fault. I have already decided that this is how I am going to remember you until we can meet again. Peaceful, beautiful (Stop blushing stupid, you know it is true!), and oh so young. Far too young to have had to deal with a life like this. Like me. Just remember that it is not your fault, if you need to blame someone then blame me. You will be waking up soon, so I will end this here. Good luck Zeno, and take care of yourself.

With love

Yuki

No one said anything as Zeno finished reading the first letter. The air was heavy with the understanding of just what they would be hearing. These were the private thoughts of someone they did not know, expressing her feelings and wishes. Zeno traced the areas of distortion from where her tears had fallen onto the paper. "You are no crybaby, Hime, just too kind for your own good." Zeno breathed in deeply and released a lot of his tension, he had missed her so much it hurt and reading this letter was like pain reliever for his heart. Brushing any stray tears from his own cheeks, Zeno refolded the first letter before opening the next one, slightly worried at what it may hold after his horrible reaction to her decision to leave.


	4. Day 2

Day 2

Dear Zeno

Our separation did not go as well as I had hoped. You got quite upset, understandably, and said a number of things I know you have—or will at least—come to regret. Please do not fret about it, all is forgiven. I know you will beat yourself up about what happened, but nothing you could have done would have made me stay. No matter how much I wanted to. I am sorry that I made you feel that way, though. I will not put any of the things you brought up in here; maybe by the time you get this you will have already forgotten what was said. It would make me happy to know that you are no longer hurting yourself because of your words. I walked for a long time after I left you, I did not want you to try to come find me. It was rather boring since I passed no one on the roads. I camped out in the trees, it was surprisingly comfortable. I happened across a river about mid-morning and followed it all day today. I saw a few people, but decided against stopping to talk to any of them. Right now I am camping right outside of a small fishing village that lies close to the river. I believe that I will stick close to the river for a while, at least until I figure out where I am. Well, it is getting late so I suppose I will stop here for tonight. Write you tomorrow Zeno, sleep well.

With all my forgiveness,

Yuki


	5. Day 3

Day 3

Dear Zeno,

It started to rain last night. I am glad that I have a waterproof cover to wear, it is keeping me dry. Still, I did not get very far in my travels today. There was a problem with a fishing boat flipping, and I ended up helping to pull the boat back to the shore. The water was very cold! The banks were also fairly muddy already, though it is only a light rain, so I ended up having to travel through the trees instead. I quite early today in order to find a good place to camp. I found a large tree with plenty of cover to sleep in tonight. It was even mostly dry. This is a fairly boring letter, not a lot really happened so I will just sign off here. Good night Zeno, keep warm!

Hoping for Sunshine,

Yuki


	6. Day 4

Day 4

Dear Zeno

The rain has still not stopped, but it did at least ease up for a few hours so I got a bit of traveling done. The river is up and people are worried about the possibility of it flooding. I have to agree that if the rain does not let up soon then flooding could be a serious danger. That said, I really did enjoy the rain as I was traveling. I love the rain, you may remember. After all, rain stands for new beginnings and I am such a huge fan of those. It is also quite beautiful, the rain is, at least as long as you do not have to walk in it. Even so, I never mind getting a little wet. It is not like I will get sick or anything like that, so to me it is not a problem. You know that though, remember when we always used to play and dance in the rain? The others were always so mad whenever they caught us, we made a game out of who could stay out the longest without being seen. We were such children back then, always making games out of anything and everything we could. Oh, but I am rambling now. Opps! Sorry about that. Guess I will just sign off now then, bye Zeno!

Enjoying the rain,

Yuki


	7. Day 5

Day 5

Dear Zeno,

The river flooded during the night. Some of the villages closer to the river banks have some structural damage, but so far all the people seem to be alright. I hope you are okay too, Zeno. I slept badly last night, had nightmares all night. Nothing too bad, but it makes me restless. I had a close friend almost drown in a flooded river like this one once. It sticks with you, something like that. But I doubt I really need to tell you that, huh Zeno? Sorry, this seems to be a fairly unpleasant letter. I suppose that that does not really matter though. I do hope that you are being careful. I am such a worrier. I guess that I just care too much sometimes; it seems to be a reoccurring issue. I did not get any farther today, with the river up like it is travel is too dangerous. The danger probably does not matter to you though, but you should still be cautious. I need to go now, it is freezing and I still have not managed to find any dry wood. Stay safe Zeno.

Wishing for a fire,

Yuki


	8. Day 6

Day 6

Dear Zeno,

The rain stopped this morning, thankfully. Everything is a muddy mess now, including me! I managed to get a small fire going at least. I have hope that I may be able to dry some of the mud enough to brush some of it off. I doubt it though. Still, every person I came across today seemed in good spirits. It is good to see so many people happy. I was told by another traveler that I am nearing Rain's boarder, that does explain all the rain here. I find it exciting, honestly, since I have not been to Rain territory before. The land is very wet, but it is also quite beautiful. I think I might stay in this area for a while. I really do love the landscape here. Maybe I will try to draw out a picture of it for you. I am not sure though, you know how bad I am at drawing. We will see though. It has gotten a bit lonely, traveling by myself. I suppose that I am just not used to being alone anymore. I am considering joining up with some one else, maybe even a group of traveling entertainers. It would be an enjoyable experience and I am a fairly good musician. I have not played or sang in a while, but I doubt that would be a problem. At any rate, things will definitely not be boring any longer. Well, that is all my news for the day. I am not too boring yet, am I? I hope not, but things should be picking up soon. Take care of yourself, Zeno.

Feeling a little lonely,

Yuki


	9. Day 7

Day 7

Dear Zeno,

It has been a whole week since we separated. I can hardly believe it, honestly. I hope you are not missing me as much as I have been missing you. I joined up with a pretty large caravan this morning. There are several men from a village that have joined up with other lone travelers for safety. I have not seen any merchants though, and when I asked someone explained that most of Rain's trading is done by sea. Go figure, right? It does not really matter to me, never could handle any traveling done on a large ship. Do you remember that time when we built that little boat and sailed up the river? We got in so much trouble for that! Those were good times. I have not seen you smile like that in years now. Anyway, the group that I am traveling with now is great. Some of the village men are relocating and so they brought their families. It is nice to see children running about underfoot and getting into mischief again. DO you remember when that was us? We used to try so hard to sneak up on Abi. These are good kids though. One of them, a little boy, has a cold right now. It is nothing serious, but all the other children are doting on him right now. It is absolutely adorable, to tell the truth. Still, I do wish they could be just a little quieter. My poor ears are not used to so much noise and it is giving me a terrible headache. Oh, the children just came over and asked about what I was doing. Apparently none of them know how to read or write. I do believe that I was just appointed their teacher. Oh well, at least they are all wanting to try. I hope that you travel with someone else again, even if it only for a little while. You deserve the company, Zeno, even if you disagree. I should go now, it is getting late and I agreed to take the last watch. If we are lucky then nothing will happen, but bandits have been spotted in the area recently so we are being careful. Wish us luck! I love you Zeno.

No longer alone,

Yuki


End file.
